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Is my 8-week-old puppy's biting, jumping, and zoomies normal?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Brittany | Male | unneutered | 1 month and 30 days old | 12 lbs

We brought our 8 week old Brittany Archie home Saturday he was pretty calm no biting he has had lots of excercise and attention everyday but he is bitting and jumping like crazy and running mad every once in a while is this common ?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Jessica Desrosiers

Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on April 5th, 2017

Sounds like Archie has a case of the puppy zoomies! Being mouthy, jumping, and having periods of just "running around like a maniac" are all very common for puppies. Looking into basic obedience about how to stop jumping up behavior and biting/chewing can help start Archie off on the right foot.

As puppies explore the world with their mouths much like toddlers do, there are a few things you can do to help turn this into a more positive behavior. The first is to yelp "ouch!" any time Archie gets a little too nibbly, and get up and walk away. He'll quickly learn that what he is doing hurts and doesn't get him any attention. You can also reward him by giving him lots of praise when you spot him chewing on an appropriate toy. If you catch him chewing something he shouldn't, replace it with the correct toy instead and give him praise if he continues to chew on it.

Looking into a basic puppy kindergarten can also help get both of you used to each other and establish some "house rules" in addition to learning the fun stuff like sit and stay.
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